Through the Grapevine
by wheezes wizard weasleys
Summary: There are a lot of interesting rumors in this world, you know. “Alex, you’ll never believe what I heard through the grapevine.” “…There’s a grapevine?” NALEX


**A/N: **Here is the happy story I promised you all. Aren't you guys excited that I gave it to you?! I KNOW RIGHT?! Sorry. (coughs) Anyways, this was a pretty quick update. It was really slow going at first – I actually started this about two weeks ago. Then I just started working on it when I released "I'd Lie", and it just kind of… came. I dunno. Long-ish, I suppose. Not super-dee-duper long, but not short, either. I really like this one, actually, because it's sweet. And cute. And fluffy. And happy. Not sad or angsty or hurt-y. Read and review please.

EDIT: I actually finished this the day after I wrote "I'd Lie". But I'm lazy, so I'm just putting it up. xD (P.S. if you read what I just posted, you may think I'm bipolar. Which may be true.)

**Name of Story: **Through the Grapevine  
**Summary:** There are a lot of interesting rumors in this world, you know. "Alex, you'll never believe what I heard through the grapevine." "…There's a grapevine??" [NALEX]  
**Genre: **Romance. With a bit of humor, but not a lot.  
**Pairings: **Nalex  
**Rating: **K+ for (I think) two swears  
**POV: **1st person – Alex

--

"Mitch," I whined, widening my eyes and staring right into her lighter, sweet eyes. She had no idea what she was signing up for when she became friends with me. Being friends with a wizard must make life fun for her and Harper.

Mitchie shut her locker door then leaned against it, sighing. Her bangs fluttered for a moment from her breath before falling back down. "Alex, we are not ditching class again," she insisted, causing me to glower.

"Not cool, Mitchie," I grouched, grabbing her arm and leading her to my own locker, which was down the hallway. Stepping up to it, I spun the dial (bet you didn't think I knew what it was called), entering my combo before pulling open the locker. "Spot me," I muttered, leaning down and pulling my wand from my boot. "Since I can't bake, give me a chocolate milkshake," I invented wildly, and, to my surprise, the glass filled itself with a milkshake – chocolate, just like I requested. Grinning, I slid my wand back into my boot. After this, I grabbed my whipped cream, spraying it on.

"'Kay, I'm good," I informed Mitchie, sticking in a straw and twirling it around for a moment before taking a sip. "Yum," I grinned toothily at my friend. "Hey, where's Harper?" I questioned, and Mitchie shrugged. "Probably where we should be – _in class._"

"Dude, we still have, what, two minutes?" I scoffed. "And even if you're still going to class, it doesn't mean I am," I informed her. Her brown eyes narrowed.

"Alex, you already ditched two periods," she hissed. "You're going to get caught." I shrugged.

"Yeah, and what harm will be done? Detention?" I snickered. "Scary." To prove my point, I took a sip of my milkshake.

"Stop acting so nonchalant about it!" Mitchie snapped. "I'm serious, Alex."

Huh. Serious. Not really my thing, you know? I scoffed. "I am so… chalant," I said, blinking. What does that even mean? Mitchie seemed taken aback for a moment.

"Alex," she said carefully, "I'm pretty sure that's not a word." I shrugged. Hey, not my call.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I muttered, turning on my heel, milkshake in hand.

As I wasn't paying attention to where I was going – BAM! I slammed into a very hard, very _alive _being. I stumbled back to have that person grab my wrist, and I staggered for a moment before collecting myself. Immediately, I glanced at my hand.

"Good news, Mitch," I called over my shoulder, "my milkshake didn't spill!" I turned back around then to snap at the person who'd knocked into me. Looking up, I saw it was… Shane. Ugh – if only Mitchie wasn't here. Then I could yell at him.

"Hey, Shane, do you often go knocking around into innocent people?" I questioned, and he shrugged, grinning.

"Depends on who they are," he replied. Well. At least he's honest. I smiled a bit at his answer while my eyes roamed around. What can I say? I was bored. Just as I took a sip of my milkshake, I caught something that I couldn't resist. I swallowed quickly, then sang,

"What's that? A hat? Crazy, funky, junky hat. Overslept? Hair untidy? Tryin'-a look like Kiera Knightley? We been there, we done that, we see right through your funky hat!" It would've been better with Harper, of course, but _nooo, _she has to be off in class.

Shane stared at me for a moment, until I finally spoke up. "Shane, do you need something?" He blinked, then smiled slyly.

"Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you," he said, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mitchie's eyes widen.

"Um, no, he hasn't," she interrupted, rushing forward and grabbing his wrist, her brown eyes narrowing. "Right, Shane?" she questioned.

"No, I'm pretty sure I have, darling," he said cheerfully, kissing the top of her head before turning back to me. "So, Alex..."

"Get on with it, Shane. Mitch, I'd like my milkshake back," I requested. Mitchie thrusted the milkshake at me, and it's contents shook, nearly going out of the cup before slowly settling down again. Mitchie then turned back to Shane, the two's eyes locking.

It was kind of funny, watching them silently argue. At one point, Mitchie actually stomped her foot, causing me to laugh and Shane to snort.

When the two finally broke, I couldn't tell who had one – I was too busy slurping up my milkshake.

"Anyways. Alex, you'll never guess – "

"_Shane, you promised!" _Mitchie snapped, but Shane shrugged her off.

"Alex, you will never believe what I heard through the grape vine," he said, smirking at me.

I nearly dropped my milkshake at that. "There's a grape vine?" I said in bewilderment. "And it can talk?! How come I've never heard of this?"

Shane stared at me, slowly blinking. Finally, he spoke. "No wonder your brother insists you'll be a beach hobo…"

I smiled, losing track of what we were talking about. "I love the beach. It's going to be great, I just know it. I mean, I get to stay on the beach, make fun of people, steal people's stuff… it's like a dream come true!" Mitchie started laughing at this, and Shane joined in. I rolled my eyes before saying, "Dude. That wasn't even funny. It was funny, though, when Frankie told Justin he needed to return his face, and that it isn't Halloween yet." I laughed at that. "Huh. Too bad Justin made her go all creepy on me," I said absently, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear while taking another slurp of my milkshake.

Mitchie shook her head slowly, rolling her brown eyes. I decided to ignore her, though, as I questioned Shane. "So, what did you hear through the grapevine?" I asked, only half-interested.

The smirk painted itself back on Shane's face, his brown eyes dancing with humor. "You have to guess," he drawled out, lazily grinning.

"Shane, you better not," Mitchie growled. "That was strictly between you and him, I shouldn't have even heard it!"

I blinked slowly. "Hmm? You and who?" I questioned, curiosity sparking. "And what…? I wanna know," I demanded.

Shane nodded. "I'm doing him a favor, Mitch," he insisted, shooting me a large, white smile.

"Yeah, Mitch," I agreed, not really sure what we were talking about.

Shane was just about to open his mouth when a voice called out my name. "Hey, Alex, you're supposed to be in biology now." I turned around, not really sure who it was.

"Don't talk so loudly, someone may hear you," I hissed right as my eyes landed on Nate. Nate chuckled, his deep brown eyes seeming merry.

"Lexie, I'm looking for you. We're partners in that class, and I need you to do the assignment," he reminded me, and I couldn't help but grin.

"Oh yeahh," I remembered now. "C'mon, let's go, slacker."

Nate looked at me skeptically. "Oh, so _I'm_ the slacker??"

I nodded. "Yup. Shane, we'll talk later. See you!" Shane looked annoyed at this, and Nate looked confused.

We walked down in silence for a moment before Nate spoke. "What do you and Shane need to talk about…?" he asked curiously, glancing slyly over at me.

I waved my hand. "Don't really know. Shane heard something through a grapevine, though." I paused. "I didn't know there was a grapevine, but whatever."

Nate's eyes widened. "O-oh? Um… did he hint at what it was about?" he said, voice cracking slightly.

I laughed at that. "And here I was, thinking you had already gone through puberty," I teased.

His face turned sullen at that. "I have," he grouched, looking annoyed that I would even suggest such a thing.

"Oh really?" I countered, smirking playfully at him.

"Yes really," he snapped back.

I put my hands up, still smirking. "Alright, alright, no need to be so touchy, Nate." Nate made a face at me then, and I stuck out my tongue.

"Real mature, Lexie," he muttered, and I grinned. "Anyways, do you have an idea of what Shane wanted?"

I shook my head no. "No idea, actually. Mitchie clearly didn't want him to say it, though – 'parently, it's between him and some other dude. Wouldn't tell me who, though."

Nate's face turned stormy. "Shane's stupid," he grunted, looking furious.

I shrugged in reply, wondering idly what his issue was. I remembered my milkshake then, and carefully sucked up the rest.

--

Haha, I fucking love biology. That day I'd blown up my frog, and it was frigging amazing. Of course, I had Nate as my partner, so he managed to convince the teacher to give us another frog. He can do that, you know. He's got these damn long lashes and large brown eyes that just make everyone want to give him what he wants.

Um, yeah. Don't tell him I said that unless you wish to die a painful death.

As we walked, laughing, out of class, I informed him I had to go talk to Shane. Nate immediately turned angry again, and refused to leave my side as we headed towards my locker, where I saw Shane and Justin standing.

"Hey, Shane," I called out, grinning at him. Shane smirked at – Nate? I was confused as I walked up to the two.

"Hey, Lexie. Hey, Nate," he greeted.

"You are dead," Nate muttered, furiously glaring at his brother. Shane shrugged nonchalantly, not seeming to care.

Justin grinned at me. "Alex, I heard that you blew up your frog in biology. How does it feel, knowing that since you got another F, mom and dad are going to ground you?" He asked, smirking and crossing his arms.

I laughed. "Pretty boy Nate managed to get the teacher to get us another frog," I said, smiling sweetly. "We got an A," I said, triumphant. After all, it was my first A in… a long time. Justin's face changed comically, causing me to snort. "See you, Justin. Oh wait, I mean _J-Man._" I said, and he glared at me before leaving.

"I don't even want to know," Shane muttered before Nate spoke up.

"I'm not a pretty boy!" he objected.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Nate, you so are. It's not even funny how pretty boy-ish you are."

Nate wasn't about to give up, though, as he objected, "I am not a pretty boy, Alex!"

Shane sighed. "You kind of are, Nate."

"Some brother you are," Nate muttered. "I'm out," he grunted as he walked towards his locker.

I shrugged, turning back to Shane. "So, you wanted to talk to me?" I verified, and Shane nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "So, I was talking to Nate –"

"No shit, you talk to Nate every night," I reminded him, but he ignored me.

"And we were discussing… girls," he informed me, and I shrugged, not really caring. "So Mitchie was about to come over, and Nate was asking me about how I got the nerve to ask Mitchie out. I was telling him when I suddenly wondered why he was asking, 'cause girls are usually throwing themselves at his feet." Yeah, I noticed. And it pissed me off to no end. "And so I decided to ask him. Well, he seemed a bit uneasy about that, and I realized he liked a girl." Wait, wait, wait. Nate liked someone?! "So I asked him who." He smirked at me, while I felt a rage of emotions crash down on me. "And he said… you."

My eyes widened, and I stumbled a bit. Nate liked… me? That couldn't be possible. I'm plain old, trouble making Alex Russo. And he's… well, Nate Gray. What else is there to really say?! "No, he doesn't," I squeaked out, not really sure if I believed him.

"Yes, he does," Shane said, smiling triumphantly.

"Who does what?" Nate interrupted, still looking pissy as he walked up to us. I was silent, causing him to give me a weird look. Shane didn't answer, either, and suddenly, Nate stiffened.

"You didn't," he growled, and for the first time, Shane looked… kind of freaked out.

"C'mon, buddy," he encouraged, laughing nervously. "We're brothers, remember? Forgive and forget…?" Nate's glare didn't stop. "Or not?" he squeaked out.

--

I was still dumbstruck over the fact that Nate liked me as I walked to art, two periods later. It was the only other class I had with Nate, and I really didn't want to be there. I mean, in all honesty, I like Nate. I like him… a lot more then I should. But I didn't believe that Nate really liked me. It felt like a prank, like they found out that I liked him and were making fun of me for it. It seemed to… good to be true. So, being me, I automatically assumed it wasn't. Luckily, though, this was my last period.

Carefully, I slid into the class, a bit late. Lucky me, though, my teacher liked me, so I was pretty sure I was good. It's odd, actually, because art is the only class I actually enjoy. It's the only class I work hard in, and get a good grade in. Mrs. Violetti, the teacher, smiled at me as I slid into my seat, a little bit away from Nate's. I avoided looking at him as my teacher walked up to me, explaining that we were experimenting with paints today. I nodded, not really paying attention.

Without thinking, I ignored what she said, pulling out a bitten-on pencil. I'd paint it when I was done drawing. Lucky for me, she said we'd be working on this for a few days. Carefully, I began to sketch my face, smiling out at me. It was just an outline, a simple thing. I'd get in the details later. I began working on the next person then – Nate. It was instinct, something I wasn't really thinking about as I'd occasionally glance up at him to get his hair and face right. Just as I finished Nate's jaw, Mrs. Violetti told us to put away our stuff. I gazed at the two faceless people, one with hair and a smile, me, and the other with a bit of hair. Nate. Sighing, I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, my brown eyes glancing up to meet another pair of brown eyes – Nate.

I immediately looked down, and I couldn't help but be struck by how not me this was. I was never shy around a guy. After all, I had hopped into my ex-boyfriend, Dean's, car once just to tell him I liked him. Yet here I was, feeling shy and afraid that I'd get turned down if I told him that I liked him, too. Which didn't really make sense, but still.

Forcing the thoughts out of my head, I picked up the paint I had, which was still closed and unused, waiting for me to put it on my paper plate, and headed over to where it was supposed to go. They were big things of paint, and heavy, too. I lugged them along, snickering at the thought of Justin trying to pick these up.

Not watching where I was going, I crashed into someone, and the paint, which wasn't yet closed, knocked out of my hand, spilling on the ground. I steadied the other can before falling backwards over my feet, and the paint can flew up, paint flying out of it and spilling all over. I shrieked while I felt the other person throw their paint out of the way, grabbing me around my waist and diving. Why? Good question.

We landed on wet, sticky red paint, and slid a bit on it. Slowly, I wiped the paint away from my eyes, and blinked slowly. My eyes fell on Nate, who held my body next to his, his brown hair tinted red. Paint was splattered all over the floor, but most people had been out of the aiming area – only a few had a bit of splatters on them. It had been Nate and I who had received the most damage.

Mrs. Violetti looked… well, pissed. "Alexandria Russo, Nathaniel Gray, you two will have to stay behind and clean this mess up," she snapped. It was weird for me, because she was one of the only teachers who didn't yell at me. Well, good things never last, do they?

Nate sighed, wiping a lock of hair that dripped with green and red paint from his eyes. "OK," he muttered, and I shrugged. I never got home on time, anyways – I always had detention.

The bell rang then, and the class filed out, the unlucky ones who got splashed shooting us nasty looks. Well, the girls shot me nasty looks – pretty much every girl in my grade had a crush on Nate. It was disgusting, really. (Even if I was one of them)

Tucking a strand of wet hair behind my ear, I took the sponge and bucket of water Mrs. Violetti handed me. Getting down on my knees, I began scrubbing, silent while Nate began to do the same. As soon as Mrs. Violetti's heels clicked out of the room, I threw my sponge in the bucket, wondering how I could clean up this mess without Nate knowing I was doing magic.

A more pressing thought came into my head then – did Nate really like me…? Swallowing thickly, I glanced down at the mess. "Nate…?" I mumbled, and he looked up at me.

"Listen, I'm sorry. I didn't want you to find out like that, in fact, I didn't really want you to find out at all. You're way out of my league, I know, but I was setting myself up for it, telling Shane. So you can laugh at me, I won't blame you," he rushed out, then blushed.

I was silent, and he looked up at me, hurt evident in his eyes. "Do you really like me?" I asked quietly. Nate blushed harder, then nodded.

"Yeah… I do. A lot," he admitted.

I started smiling then. "I like you too," I mumbled.

"Good," Nate mumbled, then leaned over and kissed me. I was shocked at first, but then I kissed back. It was an innocent kiss – he wasn't probing and dirty, he didn't try to go farther. It was what I would've wanted my first kiss to be.

And it was my first kiss. Not that I'd ever admit that. It was ruined, though, when I heard voices.

"Aww, Shane, they're so cute!"

"Yeah, yeah. We're cuter," Shane replied, jealousy evident in his voice. "Anyways, they're cliché. We're original."

We pulled apart, and I saw annoyance and amusement in Nate's eyes. "Yeah, but Nate's a sweetheart. He'll write her songs, and sing her to sleep, and be absolutely adorable!" Mitchie squealed.

"I could do those things for you," Shane pointed out.

"Aww, sweetie, thanks. I love you just the way you are," Mitchie assured him.

"You do realize we can hear you, right?" I said aloud, rolling my eyes at Nate, who smiled back.

There was a pregnant pause before Shane spoke. "Shit, Mitch!"

"Watch your language," Mitchie reprimanded.

"Just come out already," Nate said, gently taking hold of my hand. The two stepped out, looking guilty.

Mitchie immediately spoke. "I'm sorry, Lexie. It was Shane's idea!"

Shane looked like he'd just been caught in a scandal. "Was not and you know it," he objected. Immediately, the two began to bicker about whose idea it was before Nate finally broke in.

"It doesn't matter, guys," Nate said. "You followed through with it, so it's both of your faults."

I laughed. "Hey, Nate, why don't you go clean up? Shane, you go with him. Mitch and I can finish up in here," I assured him. Nate looked confused.

"This is a huge mess, Lexie. You can't do it by yourself," he pointed out.

"I have Mitchie. Anyways, there will probably be a bit more when you get back," I pointed out. He looked doubtful, but I pushed him out, and Mitchie did the same to Shane.

She turned to me as I pulled out my wand, mumbling the spell. Immediately, it was all cleaned up. Piece of cake.

"You and Nate will be cute together," Mitchie said absently. I smiled at her.

"Yeah," I agreed.

Mitchie was silent for a moment. "If you two get super mushy, I'll kill you."

I laughed. "Mushy is your thing, Mitch."

Mitchie shrugged in reply. "You never know, Lexie. Anyways, Shane isn't really a mushy kind of guy. Nate is."

I had to agree with that. We were silent once more before I finally spoke up. "And to think, I heard it all through the grapevine."

--

**A/N: **WEE. MUSHY MOMENTS. DISGUSTING YET AMAZING. So, was it too fluffy? Too not fluffy? Or just right? Do share. I would appreciate it immensely. Now, I'd write a longer author's note, so… I'ma go eat a pop tart. I'm friggin starved, no joke. Review please? SOYEAHBYE. -Bella


End file.
